CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton men's soccer team couldn't overcome a three-goal deficit on Wednesday evening, falling to the No. 19 Middlebury Panthers in a non-conference match at Spartan Stadium.

The Spartans fall to 4-7-2 with the loss, while Middlebury improves its record to 7-1-2.

Dallas Desroches tallied his third goal of the season in the loss for Castleton, getting his squad on the board in the second half on an assist from Jack Kingdon. Aaron Parker tied a season-high with nine saves in the loss.

Adam Glaser scored his fifth and sixth goals of the year for the Panthers in the contest, and Drew Goulart and Tom Bean each netted their first scores of the season. Greg Sydor stopped three of the four shots he faced in his seventh victory of the season in goal.

The game was level for the opening 20 minutes, as the two sides played back-and-forth soccer in search of an advantage. The Spartans had a golden chance in the 17th minute when Kingdon forced a turnover in Middlebury's end of the field and carried it into the box. A pair of defenders quickly swarmed him, and his shot attempt was blocked away to end the threat.

Middlebury found the first goal of the contest in the 26th minute, when Goulart netted his first career goal to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. The freshman maneuvered around a pair of Castleton defenders in the box before letting go a shot that beat Parker to the bottom right.

With time winding down in the half, Glaser netted his team-leading fifth goal of the season to double the Panthers' lead to 2-0. The senior fielded a pass 30 yards out and split a pair of defenders before pulling the trigger on a shot just outside the 18-yard box. His attempt found the bottom left corner of the net to send his squad into the break with a 2-0 lead.

The Spartans had a chance to halve the lead in the 63rd minute, when Paul Phillips sent a long ball over the top to Kingdon. Kingdon elevated and put a head on it, but the ball landed right in the hands of Sydor for the save. Just a minute later, the Panthers had a free kick just outside the box, but Parker made a fingertip save that sprung Castleton in transition. Castleton had another chance to get on the board, but the Panther defense cleared away the pressure in favor of a chance of its own.

Middlebury pushed its lead three goals in the 65th minute, when Glaser tallied his second goal of the game after a perfect through ball by Goulart. The senior received the pass at the six-yard box and took one touch around Parker before guiding the ball into the open net to make it 3-0 in favor of the visitors.

The Spartans looked to close the gap following the Panther goal, as Kingdon collected a ball on the right wing. The rookie delivered a cross into the box that passed a Spartan forward in the middle and found the foot of Desroches at the far post. Desroches one-timed a shot past an outstretched Sydor to make it a 3-1 game. The Panthers tallied one final goal in the 86th minute when the squad drew a free kick just outside the box near the end line. Jed Sass flicked a ball over a wall of Castleton defenders that found Bean, who headed it into the right side of the net for the fourth and final Panther goal.

Middlebury held a 42-9 shot advantage and a 13-4 edge in shots on goal in the contest. The Panthers also had a 6-0 edge in corner kicks and recorded eight fouls to Castleton's five.

Castleton is back in action on Sunday when it travels to SUNY Canton for its second-straight non-conference match.